coons



No. 62l.96l. Patented Mar. 28, 1899.

J. CUUNS. GAS 0R LIQUID VENDING MACHINE.

I (Application filed Kay 22, 1897. Repewed Apr. 2, 1898.) (No Model.) '3$heets-$heot l.

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No. 6,2|,96|. Patented Mar. 28', I899,

J.- COUNS;

.GAS D R LIQUID VENDING MACHINE.

A umm filed m 22. 1887. Renewed Apr. 2, 1898.)

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No. 62!,961 Patented Mar; 28, I899. J. COONS.

GAS 0R LIQUID VENDING'MACHINE.

(Application filed May 22, 1897. Renewed Apr. 2, 1898.)

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at the starting-point.

N lTE STATES ATENT Enron.

JAMES COONS, OF NEw YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY iR'EoT AND MEsNEASSIGNMENTS, TO PAUL o. SHAFFER AND JAMES F. REID.

GAS O-R LIQUID VENDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,961, dated March28, 1899.

Application filed May 22, 1897. RencwedApril 2, 1898. Serial No.676,253. (No model.)

To all whomit may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES COONS, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas or LiquidVending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gas or liquid vending machines which areactuated and controlled by coins; and my invention consists in a novelcombination and construction of parts hereinafter described, and shownin the drawings, by means of which a variable quantity of gas or liquidcan be safely delivered to the consumer, yet any attempt to fraudulentlyuse the machine will be rendered fruitless by the guards employed. Iattain this object by a combination of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevationshowing the principal parts in their relative position Fig. 2 is a planview of the machine. Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing the ratchet-wheelattached to the rotatable receiving-cylinder and the pawls looking andturning said cylinder. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through themachine. Fig.

5 is an elevation of the coin-conduit and connecting parts. Fig. 6 is afront view of the machine with the cover in place. Fig. 7 isa detailedview of the cam adapted to delay the closing of the valve. Fig. 8 isadetailed view of the coin-ejecting part. Fig. 9isa detailed view of amodification of the cam shown in Fig. '7, and Fig. 10 is a side view ofthe parts in Fig. 9.

In the operation of the machine the coin 2 is placed in the coin-conduit1 and thence delivered into a V-shaped eccentrical cavity 3 in therotatable cylinder 4 and slightly projecting therefrom, as shown inFig. 1. This eccentrical cavity 3 is narrow at the bottom and wide atthe mouth and is mounted at one side of the axis of the cylinder 4:,thus allowing for the tipping of the coin, as hereinafter described. Thecylinder 4 is held in the desired position for receiving the coin by anycustomary spring-notch device, as shown in Fig. 2, the cavity 3 thenoccupyinga position in which. one wall of the cavity stands vertical,forming a continuation of the side wall of the coin-conduit 1. Thisspring-notch can be omitted entirely, as the coin when deposited in thecoin-conduit 1 will drop into the cavity 3 of the cylinder 4. as soon asthe mouth of the cavity passes the lower end of the coin-conduit 1 inthe process of turning the cylinder byactuating the hand-wheel 11. Onthe outside of the coin-conduit 1 a trap or door 5 is hinged, or it maybe mounted on a spring, as at 6, and adapted to close the aperture leftin the wall of coin-conduit 1 for the passage of the projecting edge ofthe coin. The rotatable cylinder 4. is incased in a stationary shell 7,as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, which shell is cut out for .over one-halfits circumference in such manner as to prevent the withdrawing of thecoin at any other place except the place of receiving and that ofdelivering the same in the coin-receiver of the machine. by means of theflanges of this stationary shell is especially illustrated in Fig. 5 ofthe drawings, in which it is shown that the distance between the inneredges of the flanges while less than the diameter of the coin is stillsufficient to allow the edge of the coin to project, thus preventing thewithdrawal of the coin while it passes along the edges of said flangesduring the turn of cylinder 4.

The cylinder is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings and provided atone end with a ratchet-wheel 8 and gravity-pawl 9, allowing it to berotated in one direction only. The shaft of the cylinder projectsthrough the outer case 10 and there carries a handwheel 11, by means ofwhich it is rotated.

Acrown-wheel 12, revolved by the metermechanism, when the meter isworking, by means of a pinion 13, secured to shaft 14, serves toregulate the quantity of gas to be delivered for a unit of coin, onerevolution of this wheel corresponding to the quantity of gas tobedelivered for one coin. The Wheel 12 carries on its back a gravity-pawl15, which at the end of each revolution of the wheel will trip thespring-latch 16, mounted in bearings secured upon one leg 17 of theprincipal working lever A. This lever A. is secured to the valve-stem 20of inlet-valve V, regulating the gas-supply, the broad seg- The mode ofretaining the coin mental leg 18 being provided with notches 19, 21, 22,23, and 24, all of which, with the exception of the first notch 19, areequal. The revolving cylinder 4, with the project-ing edge of a coinacting as a tooth or finger, will engage one of these notches and causethe lever A to oscillate, and thereby open the inlet-valve V until thespring-latch 16, attached to the other leg 17 of the lever A, slipsbehind teeth 25, 50, 75, 100, or 125, respectively, which teeth are cutinto the upper edge of a stationary rack B, mounted upon the frame ofthe machine. One coin is required to advance the lever A one tooth, andin turn each revolution of the wheel 12 will release the latch 16, andthe leg 17, actuated byaspring 26, will slip back to the next tooth onthe rack B, gradually closing the inlet-valve V, connected with thesupply-pipe. Corresponding to the first large notch 19 on leg 18 oflever A is the first tooth 25 on' rack B, which is about double thelength of the remaining teeth, the object being to open the inlet-valvewide enough at the beginning to permit a full supply of gas to escape,while a cam 0, secured to shaft 14 near the pinion 13, having at itshighest point a rest or portion equidistant from its axis 27, as shownin Fig. 7 of the drawings, will preventthe entire closing of theinlet-valve, stopping the lever A in the middle of the first long tooth'25 of the rack B by engaging with a nose 28, projecting from leg 17,thus arresting the action of the spring 26 and giving a warning severalhours or days in advance, as the case may be, by the slightly-reducedflame before the gas is shut off entirely. Another means of graduallyshutting off the gas is shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, where it isaccomplished by means of a loose cam 38, rotatably mounted upon the mainshaft 14 and operated by a pin 39 on crown-wheel 12. This cam 38 isalways held by means of a weight or spring in a position ready toreceive the nose 28 on the lever A when it has fallen to a positionwhich has partially closed the inlet-valve, there remaining until thewhole amount of gas paid for has been consumed. Then the pin 39 turnsthe cam 38 sufiieiently to allow the nose 28 to drop and to entirelyshut off the gas, the pin 30 clearing the cam 38 and the latterreturning automatically to its normal position.

The gravity-pawl 15 is pivotally mounted on .a pin 12, secured tocrown-wheel 12, one end of the pawl when in working position at itshighest point and ready to raise latch 16 resting upon a stop 1) onsleeve 35. \Vhen the latch 16 has been raised by the pawl 15, the wheel12 having been rotated to the left and the lever A arrived at theposition shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, at which only a small amountof gas can escape, and the gas is soon to be cut off entirely, theconsumer can renew his payments. The first coin dropped intocoin-conduit 1, the cylinder 4 being once revolved, will return thelever A and the spring-latch 16 to the last position when the fullamount of gas was permitted to escape. In putting additional coins intothe coin-conduitin order to provide for a larger amount of gas anotherreason for employing the gravity-pawl 15 becomes apparent, as 011dropping the first additional coin the turning of cylinder 4 will movethe lever A one additional tooth and the lower end of the latch 16 willturn the gravity-pawl 15 over around its center 19 and allow the end ofthe latch 16 to pass and more payments to be made at once.

Another feature of my invention is the automatie coin-ejector D,consisting of a lever 29 and a weighted rack 30, suspended from one endof said lever, having rack-teeth cut on its outer edge pointing downwardand being held in contact with the coin by a weight 31 at the lowerinner end of the rack 30 when cylinder 4 is rotated. This lever 29 isrotatably mounted upon the valve-stem 20 near the lever A, and itsweighted outer end 32 is in eontactavith and resting upon the workingface of cam C. In working the machine the projecting edge of thecoinwill first pass the trap or door 5, which, falling back to its originalposition, will prevent access to the coin from the coin-conduit, whilethe rim on the stationary shell 7 prevents its removal from the cylinderon its way to the place of delivery at the bottom of the shell. Duringthis half-turn should an attempt be made to block the machine while thegas-meter is in action by clamping the coin in a central horizontalposition between the teeth of leverA and the attempt be partiallysuccessful the automatic coin-ejector D will commence to act. The cam Oon the shaft 14, actuated by the flow of gas from the meter, will raiseone end of the lever 29 and by depressing the other will throw the loweredge of a ratchet-tooth of the rack 30 in contact with the upper edge ofthe coin and first change the position of the coin in the V-shapedcavity 3 of the cylinder 4 to the dotted position shown in Fig. 8 of thedrawings, thus reducing the distance of the outer edge of the coin fromthe center of the cylinder and preventing it from springing the latch16, while the rack 30, operated by the cam C, will gradually turn thecylinder and deliver the coin into the cash receiving drawer, the lever17 snapping back to its starting-point. The are described by theremotcst point in the edge of the projecting portion of the coinwhen thecylinder is turned by hand is to be described from a center in the axleof cylinder4 with a normal radius in order to move the lever one tooth.The shifting of the coin in the cavity 3 by means of the lever 29 andrack 30 will cause this point in the edge of the coin to describe ashorter are 41, having the diameter of the coin for a la dius, with itscenter at the bottom of the cavity, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings.This are 41, in which the actuating-pointforlever A is located, willfall short of the required distance and cause the lever A to snap backto its former position before the spring-latch 16 has slipped behind thenext tooth on the stationary rack B. The cam O, actuated by the meter,will nevertheless continue to push the coin by means of lever 29 andrack 30 and with it turn the cylinder 4, thus finally delivering thecoin into the caslrdrawer of the machine.

As an additional precaution against fraud, the devices shown in Fig. 3of the drawings are used in conjunction with the coin-ejector D, wherebythe cylinder 4 is rotated directly by the gas-meter mechanism by meansof an oscillating lever33, pawl 34, ratchet-wheel 8, and gravity-pawl 9.

Both the valve-stem and the sleeve 35, forming the hub of thecrown-wheel 12, ex tend to the front of the outside case 10 and, passingthrough a dial having suitable figures printed upon its face, have ahand secured to each. Thus the amount of gas purchased and the amountsold will both be indicated and can be learned bya single glance at thedial, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. i

To insure the valve V working uniformly without too great friction, thespring 26, operating the lever A, is wound spirally around valve-stem20, one end of the spiral portion of the spring resting against thebarrel of valve V and the other against a shoulder or stop on thevalve-stem, thus enacting a lateral pressure, transferring sufficient ofthe friction between the valve-stem and the barrel to the nut on theback endof the valve to prevent the jamming of the valve-stem and valve,and causing an easier movement of the valve than in ordinary valves.

I preferably employ a crown-wheel having fifty teeth, which best suitsthe present price of gas; but by making this wheel removable andsupplanting it by another having more or less teeth the fluctuations inthe price of gas can be met without materially changing the other partsof the machine. In this case I prefer to use the cam shown in Fig. 9, asit renders the removal of crown-wheel l2 easier.

It is evident that the use of this machine is not confined togas-vending machines as herein principally-described, but can also beused to dispense measured quantities of liq uids.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a gas or liquid vending machine th combination of a coin-conduit,a movable receptacle'adapted to receive and hold the coin while itengages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured to thevalve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, a spring-latchoperatively connected to said valve and adapted to engage acorresponding part to hold said valve open, and means for automaticallyclosing the same, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of acoin-conduit, a movable receptacle adapted to receive and hold the coinwhile it engages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured tothe valve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, aspring-latch operatively connected to said valve, means adapted toengage said spring latch thereby holding the valve open, and means forautomatically closing the same, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

3. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of acoin-conduit, a movable receptacle adapted to receive and hold the coinwhile it engages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured tothe valve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, a leverhaving a spring-latch and secured to said valve-stem, a rack adapted toengage said spring-latch thereby holding the valve open, and means forautomatically closing the same, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

4. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of acoin-conduit, a movable receptacle adapted to receive and hold the coinWhile it engages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured tothe valve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, aspring-latch operatively connected to said valve, means adapted toengage said springlatch thereby holding the valve open, a wheel having aloose pawl arranged to actuate said spring-latch, and means adapted toturn the valve-stem thereby closing the valve, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

5. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of acoin-conduit, a movable receptacle adapted to receive and hold the coinWhile it engages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured tothe valve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, aspring-latch operatively connected to said valve, means adapted toengage said springlatch thereby holding the valve open, awheel having aloose pawl arranged to actuate said spring-latch, means adapted to turnthe valvestem thereby closing the valve, and a cam adapted to govern theclosing of the valve,substantially as and for the-purposes set forth.

6. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of acoin-conduit, a movable receptacle adapted to receive and hold the coinwhile it engages the valve-operating part, a valve, a lever secured tothe valve-stem of said valve and adapted to open said valve, aspring-latch operatively connected to said valve, means adapted toengage said springlatch. therebyholding the valve open, awheel having aloose pawl arranged to actuate said spring-latch, means adapted to turnthe valvestem thereby closing the valve, acam adapted to govern theclosing of the valve, and an automatic coin-ejector actuated by saidcam, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In a gas or liquid vending machine, the combination of a movablereceptacle adapted to receive and hold the coin while it engages theValve-operating part, said receptacle havmg a wheel secured upon one endthereof Valve -stem, means adapted to engage said spring-latch therebyholding the valve open and means for automatically closing the same, I 5substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 14th day of May, A. D. 1897.

JAMES COONS.

Vitnesses:

PAUL SHAFFER, J. F. REID.

